


If Given A Chance

by dragonDreamer



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Family Feels, I just want a happy Underworld Family, M/M, Meet the Family, Nico Feels, Nico needs a hug, Nico needs a mother, Persephone is bitter, Will gives him one, Will is a wonderful human being, Will is the best boyfriend, am I doing this tagging thing right, at first, bc Will, but starts to come around, mothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 13:31:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11464599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonDreamer/pseuds/dragonDreamer
Summary: Nico takes Will to the Underworld to officially meet his father. Things do not go according to plan.Or:The one where Will goes to meet Hades and meets Persephone instead. Will is wonderful, Persephone is surprised and Nico needs a hug (and a mother).





	If Given A Chance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Glowsquid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glowsquid/gifts).



> Feast of Fortuna gift for Glowsquid :) I had something else planned initially, but I like this much better. Hope you like it.

Just for the record, this was _not_ Nico’s idea.

Standing outside the gates of Hades’ palace, he glanced over at the boy standing beside him. Children of Apollo really didn’t fit in down here, he thought. Will looked entirely too sunny for the underworld, with his golden hair and the cheerful sparkle in his sky-blue eyes. Even his clothes looked summery; a camp t-shirt and shorts. He looked ready to head to the beach, and not at all like he was about to meet the Lord of the Underworld.

Nico shoved his hands into the pockets of his aviator jacket. “I thought Meet The Parents was supposed to be the nerve-wrecking stage of the relationship.”

Will laughed. “Oh I’m nervous all right. I’m just taking a moment to take in the scenery.”

“Seriously?”

“I’ve never been to the Underworld before,” Will shrugged. “I’ve been curious.”

“You can sight-see later,” Nico grumbled, setting forward for the palace gates. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Falling into step beside him, Will glanced over curiously. “You really think it’ll go that badly?”

Sighing, Nico shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I doubt he’ll blast you into smithereens or anything, and he’s been trying to be a better dad recently, but he’s not exactly a people person.”

Will grinned, nudging his boyfriend with his shoulder. “No mystery where you get it from, then?”

Nico rolled his eyes and nudged him back, but otherwise ignored his comment.

They passed through the gates and into the garden beyond. Will’s eyes widened with wonder, and Nico smiled slightly. Awed Will was cute, not that Nico had any intention of telling him that.

He probably should have figured Will would like the garden. True, he probably would have preferred sunshine and fresh air, but the Garden of Persephone was more than beautiful enough to make up for it. It was like something out of a mortal fairy tale. Silver bushes gleamed in the dim light, luminescent mushrooms of every shape and colour lighting up the gloom. Precious gems the size of watermelons glittered in the flower beds and the orange flowers of the pomegranate trees glowed, almost flame-like, in the darkness.

Turning his thoughts back to his father, Nico frowned. “Maybe I should have sent word ahead, let him know I was bringing you with me on my visit this time.”

“Why didn’t you? You had time.”

“You make it sound like this was planned. You convinced me to bring you along literally yesterday.”

“Still.”

Nico sighed. “I don’t know. I guess because he isn’t exactly a normal dad, even by demigod standards. But, besides Hazel, he’s the only family I have. I’m just…nervous, I guess. I want him to like you.”

“I want him to like me too,” Will grinned, trying for levity as they ascended the palace steps. “I mean, it would be kind of awkward if your boyfriend’s godly dad hated your guts. Besides, _my_ dad seemed to like _you_ enough.”

The skeleton guards by the doors stood firmly at attention as they walked past, heading for the throne room. Nico snorted. “ _Your_ dad was in the body of a mortal teenager. Besides, Apollo has always been one of the friendlier gods. Hades is not.”

The black marble doors to the throne room swung open as they approached. As they entered, Nico’s eyes went straight to the balcony overlooking the Fields of Asphodel, upon which sat the thrones of the Lord and Lady of the Underworld. Immediately, he stiffened.

The larger throne made of fused bones, where his father usually sat, was empty. The throne beside it, however, was not.

Upon her black, flower-shaped throne, Persephone looked as though she’d rather be just about anywhere else. Her eyes narrowed as they landed on him. “Nico.”

She clearly hadn’t been in the underworld long. As the autumn and winter months wore on, she tended to grow pale, her colour fading away. At the moment, though, she was vibrant, her ebony hair lustrous and her dress flooded with the shifting colours and shapes of various summer-bright flowers. Her brown eyes, which might seem warm to some, were stone-hard as she surveyed her stepson.

Nico gritted his teeth. Of all the people to run into down here, his stepmother was the one he _least_ hoped to see. “Lady Persephone. You’re back early.”

Irritation tightened the corners of her mouth. “Yes, I am. My mother has been rather busy this time around, and the harvest season seems to have started somewhat early this year. So I have returned. And so have you.”

“I’m just visiting,” Nico ground out. “Where is my father?”

“Called away for the moment. There’s been a re-structuring of the Asphodel overpass system, or so I’m told. He should be back by the end of the day.” She turned her gaze towards Will, eyeing him curiously. “I see you’ve brought a companion. Welcome to the Palace of Hades, son of Apollo.”

Will bowed slightly. “Lady Persephone.”

Nico smiled tightly. “This is my boyfriend, Will Solace.” He turned to Will. “Come on, I’ll show you around a bit. I can have one of the servants notify us when my father returns.”

Will glanced between his boyfriend and the goddess before nodding. “Okay.” He offered a respectful nod to Persephone, “My Lady,” before allowing Nico to lead him out of the room.

They’d made down three consecutive black marble hallways before Will ventured, “I guess you two are always like that.” Nico had told him about his strained relationship with his stepmother, but it was one thing to hear about it and another to see it himself.

Nico nodded tersely. “She doesn’t like me much, and the feeling has been pretty mutual ever since she turned me into a dandelion.”

“You never did tell me why-”

“Nope.”

“Okay.”

After a long moment, Nico sighed. “I was nervous, you know, the first time I met her. I was… I guess I was resentful, because, I mean… She wasn’t my mother. But at the same time, I couldn’t really _remember_ my mother much…and I wondered what it was like, you know, to have one. Guess I’m still wondering,” he shrugged.

They walked on in silence for a minute or two. Nico’s shoulders seemed to sag, weary and worn in that way that reminded Will just how much his boyfriend had suffered in his short life.

He made the decision without a second thought. “This winter, I’m taking you to meet my mother.”

Nico stopped dead, staring at Will with a wide-eyed expression that was somewhere between shock, awe and terror. “And I can promise,” Will continued, “that she will love you. She kind of already does; I tell her about you all the time,” he admitted sheepishly.

For a long moment, Nico was frozen. Then his expression melted into the tiniest of smiles and he wrapped his arms around Will and hugged him tight. “I love you.”

Will grinned and hugged back. “I love you, too.”

When they pulled apart, Will glanced around. “By the way, where are we going?”

Nico blinked and glanced down the hall. “Oh. Right. I was supposed to be giving you a tour.”

Will frowned as Nico shook his head as if to clear it. “You’re tired.”

His boyfriend sighed. “I didn’t sleep much last night. Too busy worrying about,” he gestured wordlessly back in the general direction of the throne room. “The shadow travel didn’t help.”

Will laid a hand on his shoulder. “You should go take a nap before your father gets back.”

Nico frowned. “But-”

“I can look around on my own. I’ll probably just end up back in the garden anyway.” Will smiled. “Go get some rest.”

With a last, searching glance, Nico nodded. He leaned in to peck Will softly on the lips before heading off down the hall.

Once he’d turned the corner and vanished from sight, Will stuck his hands in his pockets and began to amble back the way they’d come. He took his time, stopping to peer into every room he passed. Finally, as he’d expected, he stepped back out into the garden.

He moved slowly through the flower beds, just taking it in all over again. It really was incredible, that all of this existed so far away from the sun’s warmth. He followed the side paths as they wound away from the palace doors. He lost track of time as he meandered, stopping to look at every new kind of plant that he came across.

Some time later, he rounded a dense cluster of gold-leafed bushes and found himself in a small clearing, a round garden table at its centre with a chair on either side.

In one of those chairs sat Persephone, contemplating the garden around her with a small frown, a quartered pomegranate on a plate at her elbow. Without looking at him, she asked, “How do you like my garden, Will Solace?”

“It’s amazing,” he answered honestly. “One of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.” Right next to the view from Half-Blood Hill at sunset and Nico laughing in the sun.

The goddess smiled slightly. “Yes, it is truly lovely. It was a gift from my husband, originally. It has grown since then, of course, but it was one of the first things that won Hades my heart. It is something of a sanctuary of mine, now, a reminder that there _are_ some things that I love down here.”

She gestured to the seat across from her. “Please, join me.”

Will took his seat obediently, watching the goddess warily. She noticed his look and smiled slightly. “I feel it would be remiss of me as a hostess not to offer you some refreshment.” She indicated the pomegranate, her smile turning wry.

Respectfully, he shook his head. He was perfectly aware of what that would mean. Much as he loved Nico, he had no desire to spend the rest of his life down here. “Thank you, My Lady, but I’m fine.”

She chucked softly and took a dainty bite for herself. After a moment, she said, “I have always liked Apollo’s children. They tend to appreciate nature more than some.”

“Most of us do love the outdoors, I suppose,” Will said with a polite smile.

“And yet, here you are,” she said, regarding him contemplatively. “For the sake of that boy.”

Will regarded her carefully. Then he ventured, “Lady Persephone, I mean no disrespect, but… Why do you dislike Nico so much? I understand that he’s your husband’s son, and not yours, but…”

The goddess straightened in her chair, eyes cold as she glared at him. “He is a product of my husband’s infidelity.”

“I understand that, but… That’s not Nico’s fault. He didn’t ask for it.” He really, _really_ , didn’t ask for it.

Persephone’s voice was frigid when she replied. “You would do well not to question a goddess, boy.”

Will hesitated, wary, then persisted. “My Lady, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, it’s just that, well… Nico doesn’t have much in the way of family. And he was separated from his mother too soon, something I think you can relate to.”

Persephone seemed to soften slightly at that. Will pressed on. “Nico never got to see his mother again. And he hasn’t had a mother figure since. Some kindness from you might help him more than you realise. He can’t help that he was born, and he’s not a bad person. At all. He might surprise you, if given the chance.”

Persephone considered him for a long moment. Then, she spoke, slowly, as though she were tasting every word carefully before letting it fall. “You are bold, Will Solace. Few would dare presume to convince a goddess to change her mind.”

Will’s lips twitched into the ghost of a smile. “Maybe not as few as you’d think.”

“Hmm, yes, you demigods do tend to be a troublesomely strong-willed lot, don’t you.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Most gods would have turned you into some form of plant or animal for daring to question them. I’m sure Nico has told you about his brief tenure as a dandelion.”

“He has, but he hasn’t told me why you turned him into one.”

“No, I suppose he wouldn’t. Perhaps that shall remain a family secret.”

At that moment, a skeleton appeared around the corner and approached the goddess. Bowing, it clacked its jaws together rapidly before straightening and awaiting a response.

“It seems my husband has returned.” Persephone stood, the picture of elegance and poise. Addressing the skeleton, she said, “You may go.” It bowed and turned on its heel, disappearing back into the garden.

Will got to his feet, smoothing out his shirt nervously. Persephone turned to him. “I will consider your words, Will Solace. I will guarantee you nothing, but I shall consider them.”

The sound of running footsteps approached from the path. Then Nico burst into the clearing, breathing heavily. He froze upon seeing the goddess. “Lady Persephone,” he said, eyeing her cautiously.

“Nico.” She stared at him for a long moment, tilting her head pensively. Then, “I would like you to join me for breakfast here tomorrow. My mother left behind a vast assortment of cereals on her last visit that will be suitable for you to eat.”

With that she swept past him, pausing at the edge of the clearing to add, “You are fortunate to have a significant other who cares for you so. You have chosen well.” Then she turned the corner and vanished from sight.

Nico gaped after her, then whirled to face Will with the expression of a fish who had just been slapped across the face. “What did you say to her?!”

Will smiled. “Just that you’re not a bad person.”

“You convinced her to invite me to _breakfast_?”

Will held up both hands helplessly. “I had nothing to do with breakfast, I just asked her to give you a chance.”

“You…” Nico shook his head, still unable to believe what he’d just heard. Persephone had just _complimented_ him. He was tempted to look up and check whether the underworld ceiling had started falling on his head.

Unable to find the words he needed, he fell back to the reason he’d come running in the first place. “My father’s back.”

“I know.” Will grinned. “Let’s finally do this, shall we?”

Nico stared at him for a moment longer. “I love you.”

Will’s grin widened. “I know.” He stepped in and kissed his boyfriend gently. “I love you too.”

Then he grabbed Nico’s hand and started leading him back towards the palace. “Now come on. Let’s not leave the King of the Underworld waiting.”

**Author's Note:**

> Is Will the best bf or is Will the best bf?   
> Nico deserves a mother. And honestly, the thought of Persephone coming around and taking care of him warms my heart _so much_.  
>  I'm considering writing a couple more things to follow on from this. But whether that happens is up to you guys. Tell me what you think :)


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